Under bottom dam wave energy converter

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a double wall dam with a reservoir between the walls with opening doors mounted on the front wall to allow oncoming waves to open the doors and fill the reservoir. A hole with a turbine and generator is mounted in the bottom of the front wall to allow the water in the reservoir to flow out and spin the turbine and generator to create electricity. The dam can collect the entire wave and stack the water in a column that can be higher than the wave. This dam can produce many times the power than other over the top wave energy converters.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Provisional Patent Application No. 61/465,242

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH

None.

SEQUENCE LISTING

None.

BACKGROUND

This invention relates to a device to convert waves into electricity. With the cost of oil becoming higher every day, the problems caused by global warming and the ever growing need for power, a means of extracting energy from solar power is needed. When the sun hits the earth it warms the earth creating wind. This wind creates waves which is concentrated solar power.

There have been many devices made to convert the waves into electricity; however, few can compete with the cost of coal. Most if not all ocean wave energy converters have a major problem. Energy equals mass times velocity. The energy in large waves is massive however; the mass of today's wave energy converters is limited to the size of the device or the amount of water flowing unto the device. My other five wave energy converters including the Floating Wave Energy Converter, The Syphone Wave Generator and the Under Bottom Generator all have a limited mass.

To solve these problems the Under Bottom Dam Wave Energy Converter is a unique device that advances overtopping dams that convert wave power into electricity. On overtopping dams the waves hitting the dams are higher than the top of the dam allowing the top of the wave to overtop or flow over the dam. The water then drops to a pool or reservoir in the back side of the dam. When the wave recedes, the water behind the dam flows through a hole at the bottom of the dam with a turbine inside to create electricity.

There are three major problems with overtopping dams. First, the top of the dam must be adjustable to keep it at the best height as wave height and tides change. Only a small part of these waves are captured. Second, the water flowing over the dam drops to the water level in the reservoir behind the dam. This wastes much of the power as the power of the falling water is not being captured. Third, the water level and head pressure of the water in the reservoir is always lower than wave.

The Under Bottom Dam solves these problems by first, making the dam higher than the waves preventing water from overtopping the dam. The water enters the front side of the dam through doors or one way valves on the dam surface. Second, there is a double wall on the dam creating a reservoir between the two walls. This limits the size of the reservoir to the amount of water entering through the doors in the front wall of the dam thus holding the water in the reservoir at or above the wave height. The Under bottom Dam can capture the entire wave thus the entire mass of the wave. Third, doors allow the water to enter then close to capture the water between the walls. The doors can allow almost the entire wave to enter the reservoir greatly increasing the mass and power of the converter. The doors when open form a ramp directing the incoming water to flow upward thus causing the water level in the reservoir to be higher than the wave itself. This greatly increases head pressure and power output at the generator.

In view of the proceeding problems the Under Bottom Dam Wave Converter provides much more power and is a more cost efficient device that is less harmful to the environment than other devices.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a device comprising of two dams or walls about parallel to each other with end walls to form a reservoir between the two parallel walls. The walls are mounted on or near the shore line with the outside wall facing the incoming waves. The bottom of the walls should extend to the ground or could be at the level of the trough of the lowest wave at low tide. If the bottom of the walls are above the ground a bottom must be used to hold the water between the walls to form a reservoir. The walls should extend upward to a height above the highest wave.

The outside wall will have large openings with doors that are hinged at the bottom of the doors. The doors swing open inward and should open to about forty five degrees to form a ramp to direct the incoming water upward between the walls. The doors should easily swing open from the force of the oncoming wave. The doors could have a float mounted on the back side near the top to close the doors when under water. A spring or other system could be used to help close the doors.

The outside wall would have one or more holes with a prop or turbine inside connected to a generator or pump. These holes would be best near the bottom of the outside wall. The holes could be in the side walls or bottom to allow the water to flow past the turbine and return to the ocean.

A bottom would be needed if the walls do not extend to the ground. This would be the case when the dam is connected to a wall, breakwater or other structure where the water is deep.

Another unique advantage of the Under Bottom Dam, if built with many units placed side by side to form a wall, would become a sea wall to protect the shore from large waves during storms. If the wall described above was built a distance off shore with a opening somewhere in the wall to act as an inlet—outlet into the ocean, a bay would be formed between the back wall and the shore. The bay could be less than 10 meters or several miles wide. The man made bay would enhance wildlife and create breeding grounds for many fish and other plants and animals. The benefits could greatly overcome any problems caused by the dam.

The Under Bottom Dam could produce 70 kw per meter and over 100 megawatts per mile with three meter waves.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a 3D view of the dam with the doors open.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the dam with the doors in an closed position.

FIG. 3 is a 3D view of the Under Bottom Dam with the dam walls tilted back away from the incoming waves.

DRAWING REFERENCE NUMBERS

The Under Bottom Dam comprises the following parts:

-   1. Front Wall -   2. Back Wall -   3. Side Wall -   4. Door -   5. Turbine -   6. Inlet Holes in front wall -   7. Outlet Hole in front wall -   8. Generator or pump -   9. Generator Shaft -   10. Door Float -   11. Bottom -   12. False Bottom

DETAIL DESCRIPTION OF THIS INVENTION

The present invention comprises a double wall dam with sides and a bottom to form a dam with a reservoir between the walls with one or more outlet holes in the front wall with a turbine inside the outlet hole. The turbine is connected to a drive shaft that is connected to a generator. The front wall has one or more inlet holes with doors that are hinged from the bottom that swing inward to open and let water in and direct water upward into the reservoir. The doors close when the water stops flowing in to trap the water inside the reservoir. The doors have floats mounted on the top or are buoyant to help them close when the water level is above the door.

Looking at FIG. 1 we see a front wall 1 with inlet holes 6 and an outlet hole 7. There is a turbine 5 inside the outlet hole 7 connected to a generator 8. There are doors 4 shown in an open position hinged at the bottom and opened at about forty five degrees. A back wall 2 is parallel to the front wall 1 with a space between the two walls. Side walls 3 connect the front wall 1 to the back wall 2 to form a closed space used as a reservoir.

In FIG. 2 we see a top view of the dam with a front wall 1 with a door 4 in a closed position. The door 4 has floats 10 mounted on the top inside edge of the door 4. A turbine 5 is inside the outlet hole 7. The turbine 5 is connected to a drive shaft 9 that is connected to the input shaft of a generator 8. A bottom 11 connects all walls at the bottom to seal the bottom of the reservoir.

FIG. 3 shows the Under Bottom Dam built at an angle. The lower section of the front wall 1 where the outlet holes 7 are located is straight up parallel to the oncoming wave. This section is normally underwater except as the wave recedes. The center section of the front wall 1 where the input doors are located is slanted back at about forty five degrees. This section would extend upward from the lowest wave trough to the highest wave crest. The top section of the front wall extends straight upwards to a point well above the highest wave crest. The back wall 2 extends straight upward from the sea floor. The back wall could be parallel to the front wall. The bottom 11 is the ocean floor. A false bottom 12 is parallel to the center section of the front wall 1. The false bottom would help direct the incoming water up into the reservoir. The reservoir would be the inside section of the unit between the front wall 1, the rear wall 2 and the side walls 3.

The unit shown in FIG. 3 has some unique advantages. First, because the doors are slanted back and are buoyant, the doors would fall to an open position when the reservoir is empty and waiting for the oncoming wave and close because of their buoyancy when the reservoir is full. Second, the area of the doors would need to be equal to the area of the oncoming wave to allow the entire mass of the wave to enter. This would not be possible because of the frame to support the doors. By slanting the front wall back at about forty five degrees the area of the wall increases by about thirty three percent. This greater area makes it possible to have a larger total door opening than the wave thus capturing the entire wave.

Operation

When a wave hits the front wall 1 of the dam it pushes the doors 4 open so the water can flow into the reservoir. The water hitting the open doors 4 hits the top side of the doors that are at about a forty five degree angle so the water is directed upwards. When the water level becomes higher inside the reservoir than the wave height and the power of the wave stops pushing the water in, the doors close by the force of the water trying to escape and the floats 10 under water and pushing the doors upward. This captures the water inside the reservoir. At this point the water flows out through the outlet hole 7 through the turbine 5 thus spinning the turbine 5 and the generator 8 to create electricity. The size of the outlet hole 7 should be a size that allows the water in the reservoir to empty before the next wave hits the dam. 

1. An Under the bottom dam wave energy converter comprising: a. a back wall or dam near parallel to the oncoming waves extending from the ocean floor or shoreline upward above the crest of a high wave at high tide with a space between the said walls, b. a front wall or dam on the ocean side of said back wall extending upward to a height about equal to the said back wall, c. one or more buoyant doors hinged at the bottom to open and swing inward towards the said back wall mounted in the said front wall between the height of the trough and the crest of oncoming waves, d. a side wall on each end of said front and said back wall extending from the said back wall to the said front wall and extending from the bottom of said back wall to the top of said back wall to form a reservoir within the four said walls, e. one or more openings near the bottom of said walls with a turbine mounted in said openings connected to a generator or pump, f. a bottom connecting the four said walls mounted at the bottom end of said walls.
 2. An Under the bottom dam wave energy converter comprising: a. a back wall or dam built on or near the ocean shore from the ocean bottom, extending upward to a height above the highest wave crest at high tide, slanted at an angle with the top end slanted away from the oncoming waves, b. a front wall about the same size as the said back wall mounted parallel to the said back wall on the ocean side of the said back wall with space between said back wall and said front wall, c. two side walls connecting said back wall and said front wall at each end of said back wall and said front wall extending upward from the bottom of said walls to the top of said walls, d. doors mounted on said front wall to allow water from oncoming waves to enter then close to trap the water between the said walls, e. one or more turbines mounted in said front wall below the said doors, f. a generator connected to said turbines.
 3. An Under the bottom dam wave energy converter comprising: a. a back wall or dam built on or near the ocean shore from the ocean bottom, extending upward to a height above the highest wave crest at high tide, slanted at an angle with the top end slanted away from the oncoming waves, b. a front wall about the same size as the said back wall mounted parallel to the said back wall on the ocean side of the said back wall with space between said back wall and said front wall, c. two side walls connecting said back wall and said front wall at each end of said back wall and said front wall extending upward from the bottom of said walls to the top of said walls, d. doors mounted on said front wall to allow water from oncoming waves to enter then close to trap the water between the said walls, e. one or more turbines mounted in said front wall below the said doors, g. a generator or pump connected to said turbines, h. a false bottom connecting said walls and said sides below said generators and above the sea floor. 